From SECNAV Public Affairs, Nov. 4, 2024 

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Navy plans to operate three Ticonderoga-class (CG 47) cruisers beyond their expected service life: USS Gettysburg (CG 64), USS Chosin (CG 65), and USS Cape St. George (CG 71).  This decision adds 10 years of cumulative ship service life from fiscal year 2026 to 2029. 

All three cruisers received extensive hull, mechanical and engineering, as well as combat system upgrades as part of an extended modernization program. USS Gettysburg (CG 64) and USS Chosin (CG 65) completed modernization in fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024, respectively. USS Cape St. George (CG 71) is on schedule to complete modernization this fiscal year.   

Like the recently announced service life extension of 12 destroyers, extending these three cruisers will bolster the Fleet as new ships are built.   

“As a former cruiser Sailor, I know the incredible value these highly-capable warships bring to the Fleet and I am proud of their many decades of service,” said Secretary Del Toro. “After learning hard lessons from the cruiser modernization program, we are only extending ships that have completed modernization and have the material readiness needed to continue advancing our Navy’s mission.” 

The decision follows a successful re-arm at sea demonstration aboard USS Chosin (CG 65) on Oct. 11, 2024.  The Transferrable Reload At-sea Mechanism (TRAM) demonstration was the first time the Navy transferred missile canisters from a replenishment ship to a warship while at sea.  This transformational logistics capability enables U.S. Navy ships to rearm without needing to pull into port. 

The service life extensions align with Secretary Del Toro’s priority of Warfighting Excellence and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti’s Navigation Plan, which prioritizes putting more ready players on the field.  

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Nov. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HII (NYSE: HII) hosted United Kingdom defense leaders at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division Tuesday. 

Madelaine McTernan, chief of defence nuclear at the Ministry of Defence, led the U.K. delegation. Adm. William Houston, director of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, accompanied them. 

“It was an honor to welcome the United Kingdom delegation to the shipyard and share best practices as we strengthen our partnership,” NNS President Jennifer Boykin said. “We appreciate every opportunity to demonstrate the pride and commitment our shipbuilders have for building the nuclear-powered vessels our U.S. Navy needs to protect freedom and prosperity around the world.” 

“I am grateful for this opportunity to visit our partners in the United States and see the expertise on display today,” McTernan said. “This visit comes following the renewal of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement which shows our commitment to strengthening our bilateral relationship with our trusted partner, as we look to how we can safeguard our nation’s security in an increasingly challenging world.” 

“The 1958 Mutual Defense Agreement is a cornerstone of our collective security, underscoring the profound trust and collaboration between the United States and the United Kingdom,” Houston said. “Over the past 65 years, our partnership with the UK, our shipbuilders and our suppliers, has not only strengthened our undersea capabilities but has also ensured the safety and stability of our nations in an increasingly complex global environment. Together, we uphold the principles of freedom and security, and our shared commitment to safe and effective naval nuclear propulsion remains a testament to the enduring bond between our navies.” 

NNS is the United States’ sole designer, builder and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two shipyards capable of designing and building nuclear‐powered submarines. 

From Honeywell 

CHARLOTTE, N.C., November 4, 2024 – Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) has been awarded a $16 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the full build, test, and integration of 25 antenna array panels supporting the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2. The contract win comes on the heels of Honeywell’s $1.9 billion acquisition of CAES Systems Holdings, LLC, which was announced in September. 

SEWIP is an integrated shipboard combat system that provides a full suite of next-generation electronic warfare capabilities. Block 2 adds new defensive technologies and functional capabilities that allow the Navy to better detect threats and provide greater situational awareness. The antenna array panels support early detection, analysis, threat warning and protection from anti-ship missiles. 

“CAES has supported SEWIP since its onset and that work will grow as a part of Honeywell. Our engineers have longstanding expertise and history with the program,” said Clayton McClain, Honeywell General Manager, Mission Systems Division. “The SEWIP antenna array panel reflects the culmination of the technologies developed at our Lansdale, Pennsylvania facility over the years, and we are proud to support the Navy as it maintains its critical programs and countermeasure systems.” 

The SEWIP antenna array panels will be built at Honeywell’s Lansdale location with the work expected to be completed by August 2027. The contract is the first Block 2 panel award from the Navy Supply Systems Command to Honeywell. 

Honeywell is a premier supplier of advanced electronic systems that enables customers to fully utilize the electromagnetic spectrum by combining decades of experience with electronic warfare systems and advanced technology. Learn more about Honeywell’s electronic warfare capabilities here.  

By U.S. Fleet Forces Public Affairs 

MAYPORT, Florida — The guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) departed Naval Station Mayport for a scheduled deployment, Nov. 2. 

USS The Sullivans is scheduled for an independent deployment to U.S. 5th fleet area of operations where it will conduct maritime security missions to support stability and freedom of navigation in the region. The Sullivans’ crew is trained and ready to engage in a variety of activities, from escorting ships to participating in joint exercises with allied and partner navies in the Middle East. 

This deployment, the ship’s fifth deployment in three years, reflects the Navy’s ongoing commitment to ensuring a strong U.S. presence in critical areas and further bolsters the U.S. deterrence posture in the region, providing increased options to the combatant commander. 

Earlier this year, The Sullivans returned from the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. The ship provided Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) for Commander, U.S. European Command amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict.  The Sullivans, alongside USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119), additionally provided on-station relief for USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) and USS Mcfaul (DDG 74), allowing both ships to return home after multiple deployment extensions.  The crew provided escort to the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group and USS Bataan Amphibious Readiness Group, and acted as Surface Action Group Commander, along with other U.S. Destroyers, while Gerald R. Ford conducted a port visit to Souda Bay, Crete.  

From Naval Station Everett, Nov. 1, 2024 

EVERETT, Washington – The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) returned to Naval Station Everett, Oct. 31, 2024 following an eight-month deployment with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) to the U.S. 3rd, 5th, and 7th Fleet areas of operation. 

“I am incredibly proud of the dedication, resilience, and professionalism shown by our team throughout this deployment,” said Cmdr. Parina Somnhot, commanding officer of John S. McCain. “Our Sailors always answered the call and helped ensure mission success.” 
 
John S. McCain deployed in March and operated both independently and as part of the TRSCG. The TRCSG deployed to the Indo-Pacific region to support regional security and stability, to keep sea lanes open, and to reassure our allies and partners of the U.S. Navy’s unwavering commitment to the region. The strike group was later ordered to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to strengthen U.S. military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions. 
 
John S. McCain conducted various exercises with foreign navies, strengthening important relationships with allies and partners. These exercises enhanced warfighting readiness, interoperability, and maritime coordination between allies and partners. 
 
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. Destroyers can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, and expeditionary strike groups. 
 
The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is comprised of Carrier Strike Group 9 staff, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 23 staff, the flagship Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, and DESRON 23 ships that include guided-missile destroyers USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), USS Russell (DDG 59) and John S. McCain. 
 
An integral part of U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 3rd Fleet operates naval forces in the Indo-Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary to execute the U.S. Navy’s role across the full spectrum of military operations – from combat operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. U.S. 3rd Fleet works together with our allies and partners to advance freedom of navigation, the rule of law, and other principles that underpin security for the Indo-Pacific region. 
 
For more information on John S. McCain, please visit https://www.surfpac.navy.mil/ddg56/. 

From Leonardo DRS 

ARLINGTON, Va., October 31, 2024  ̶  Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRS) announced today that it was awarded a contract from NAVSEA to produce ship-based air and surface target detection AN/SPQ-9B radars.  The contract includes options, if exercised over five years, would bring the cumulative value to more than $235 million. 

Under the contract, Leonardo DRS will manufacture, inspect, and test AN/SPQ-9B radars and associated spare kits.   

“The SPQ-9B radar is a vital ship protection system used across the fleet, and we are proud that the U.S. Navy continues to entrust us to produce this important defensive technology,” said Cari Ossenfort, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics business unit. “Our experienced team’s ability to execute complex manufacturing and proven engineering processes are the key reasons we remain a trusted partner to NAVSEA and PEO Integrated Warfare Systems.” 

The AN/SPQ-9B is an X-band, pulse Doppler, frequency-agile radar which was designed specifically for the littoral environment with a low false track rate in high clutter situations. It scans out to the horizon and performs simultaneous and automatic air and surface target detection and tracking of low flying anti-ship cruise missiles, surface threats, and low/slow flying aircraft, UAVs, periscopes and helicopters. 

This award builds upon our existing RF and EW systems capabilities and is an expansion of the support that DRS has provided for AN/SPQ-9B over the past six years. This work is an example of DRS’s deep experience as a leader in complex design and manufacturing supporting a wide range of missions. The company’s capabilities extend across all domains to support naval, ground, air, space, and cyber missions in areas of sensing, force protection, computer networking, as well as naval power and propulsion systems. 

By: Janina Lamoglia, Oct. 31, 2024 

NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, Calif. — Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) has been a pillar of naval aviation maintenance since its establishment in 1919. Over the decades, the facility has supported the U.S. Navy’s mission readiness, ensuring iconic aircraft like the F-14 Tomcat, A-6 Intruder, and S-3 Viking remained airworthy. Now, FRCSW signifies a major shift with the final maintenance of its last legacy aircraft — an F/A-18 Hornet. 
 
Introduced in the 1980s, the F/A-18 Hornet has been a versatile and essential asset in naval aviation, serving in major conflicts such as Operation Desert Storm and the Kosovo War. This particular Hornet, designated AQ-99, carries a rich operational history, symbolizing both the aircraft’s role in naval conflicts and the legacy of FRCSW’s aircraft maintenance program. “This is monumental for the depot,” said Ehren Terbeek, FRCSW Tactical Air Program Manager. “Many artisans here began their careers working on these aircraft, and it’s a milestone for everyone involved.” 
 
The facility’s role in maintaining these legacy aircraft has been extraordinary. Through innovations like the center barrel replacement, FRCSW extended the operational life of the F/A-18 far beyond its original limit of 6000 flight hours, with some Hornets surpassing 9,000 hours. “The aircraft is old so parts were hard to source, and structural repairs were challenging, but our team’s skills and knowledge ensured these aircraft kept flying,” Terbeek emphasized. These efforts have been crucial in keeping naval aviation mission-ready for decades. 
 
FRCSW’s artisans, many of whom are veterans, take immense pride in their work. The departure of the second-to-last Hornet to Fort Worth, Texas and now the final Hornet returning to Miramar, marks a bittersweet moment for those who spent their careers ensuring these aircraft remained battle-ready. For many, working on the F/A-18 has been a career-defining experience. “It was bittersweet knowing we were saying goodbye to an aircraft that defined our work for decades,” Terbeek reflected. 
 
As FRCSW transitions to newer aircraft models like the F-35 and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle like the MQ-8, the experience and expertise gained from decades of maintaining legacy aircraft will continue to inform its evolving role. The final maintenance effort on this F/A-18 Hornet is both the end of a chapter and a tribute to FRCSW’s historical contributions and the skilled workforce that has upheld the highest standards of aircraft maintenance. The legacy of excellence remains, as the facility prepares to support the next generation of naval aviation. 
 
Fleet Readiness Center Southwest is the Navy’s premier West Coast aircraft repair, maintenance, and overhaul organization specializing in the Navy and Marine Corps aircraft and their related systems. 

From Northrop Grumman, October 31, 2024 

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. – Oct. 31, 2024 – (PHOTO RELEASE) Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) LITENING targeting pod has completed initial flight testing on the U.S. Navy F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft, a critical step on the path to fleet operations. The tests put the electro-optical/infrared pod through a set of demanding maneuvers representative of operational scenarios. LITENING’s daylight and infrared sensors provide high-definition video in multiple wavelengths to deliver a decisive advantage in surveillance and targeting missions. 

From the U.S. Navy Office of Information, 31 October 2024 

The Department of the Navy is establishing a Naval Strategic Studies Group (NSSG) program in January administered by the DON Office of Strategic Assessment (OSA). 

The Department of the Navy is establishing a Naval Strategic Studies Group (NSSG) program in January administered by the DON Office of Strategic Assessment (OSA). 
 
The NSSG will be modeled after the Strategic Studies Group created during the Cold War, which had a twofold mission to train future flag officers in strategic thinking and to conduct research on some of the DON’s most vexing strategic challenges. 
 
The first cohort will include uniformed and civilian members from the Navy and Marine Corps. These plank-owners will conduct a capstone research project that advances Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro’s strategic maritime statecraft initiative. 
 
“I expect my seasoned, mid-grade officers to be brilliant on naval tactics and operations by the time they report for graduate education,” Del Toro said. “I need future flag and general officers who will think strategically about how to lead naval forces in an increasingly contested maritime domain and amidst intense economic, technological and military competition.” 
 
The education in strategic studies the NSSG members will receive supports DON’s focus on reinvigorating the strategic workforce, under the Secretary’s enduring priority of building a culture of warfighting excellence. 
 
Members’ research – focused on broad strategic challenges, rather than narrower problems already addressed by fleet experimentation on specific tactics or technologies – will support DON’s aim of strengthening maritime dominance. 
 
“The Department of the Navy meets our nation’s maritime needs, both today and into the future. As the Office of Strategic Assessment builds a net assessment capability for the DON to understand the complex challenges we face, the Naval Strategic Studies Group will bring together a cohort of rising leaders who will address these challenges and build the strategic leadership skills to guide our Navy and Marine Corps in a dynamic and shifting global environment,” OSA Director Dr. Cara LaPointe said. 
 
The chief of naval operations created the previous SSG in 1981 to tackle key strategic challenges related to the Cold War. Over time, the SSG’s focus evolved to reflect the needs of the Navy until 2016, when it was sundowned. 
 
As the Department of the Navy returns to an era of competition, stakeholders have agreed on the need to amplify strategic leader education as the United States faces an increasingly complex web of threats that includes China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. In 2023 Secretary Del Toro released a Naval Education Strategy to guide investments to modernize naval schools and professional military education. The NSSG will focus students’ strategic leadership studies on DON’s most pressing strategic challenges for greater effect. 
 
“Today we face a comprehensive maritime power in the Indo-Pacific, Russian aggression in Ukraine, and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea – all of which will shape our security environment for several decades,” Del Toro said. “A revitalized, Naval SSG will help the Department of the Navy engage with and look ahead of these trends with sufficient access, resources, and guidance from leadership.” 
 
The first cohort will also tackle questions that will help shape the enduring NSSG program, including working with the Naval University System to deliver a world-class curriculum, and will be located in Washington, D.C. 
 
Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, the commanding general of the Marine Corps Training and Education Command, said recent conflicts have reinforced the importance of having Marine Corps leaders at all levels who can outthink the enemy. 
 
“Domains like information and cyber, along with the rise of non-state actors, don’t fit neatly into old frameworks. Our current operating environment demands nothing less than a renaissance in strategic thinking,” said Watson. “To stay ahead of our adversaries, we need to keep evolving—updating our training, sharpening our minds, and learning – not just observing – the lessons of contemporary conflict. The fight isn’t just on the battlefield anymore, and we need every Marine to possess the training, education, and intellectual agility to adapt and overcome.” 
 
Vice Adm. Daniel Dwyer, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans, Strategy and Warfighting Development, agreed the Navy needs Sailors and civilians “with superb education and training, who are able to think, act and operate differently to ensure we can defeat our adversaries.” 
“The establishment of the NSSG will enhance our culture of warfighting excellence and strengthen our maritime dominance by developing strategically minded warfighters who will be the future senior leaders of the service and will lead our Navy through uncertain times,” said Dwyer. 
 
Del Toro established the Office of Strategic Assessment in October 2023 and tasked the office to reconstitute the strategic studies program to help rebuild the naval strategist community. 

From U.S. Coast Guard District 17 Oct. 29, 2024 

JUNEAU, Alaska – The U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian forces, and international partners wrap-up Northern Pacific counter Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing patrol, Operation North Pacific Guard 2024.   

Operation North Pacific Guard is an annual multi-mission effort between international partners that provides surface and air patrols and shares intelligence that guides patrol assets to detect and intercept illicit fishing activity.   

The joint mission included U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett, U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, U.S. Coast Guard District Seventeen, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Japan Coast Guard, Fisheries Agency of Japan, and Korea Coast Guard.   

As a result of the high seas patrols, air surveillance, and electronic monitoring, the joint crews identified potential instances of illegal harvesting of shark fins and dark vessels, a term for vessels that intentionally turn off their monitoring systems.  
   
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett patrolled the North Pacific for 65 days and conducted 21 high-seas boardings and inspections which detected four potential violations of conservation and management measures under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC).   
   
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130J Super Hercules airplane crewmembers conducted five 12-day deployments near Yokota Air Base and Misawa, Japan and observed 411 vessels. The crews observed potential shark finning violations and improper fishing vessel markings on multiple vessels.   
   
“IUU fishing is a complex and global problem that calls for an international unified response,” said Capt. Ryan Waters, chief of enforcement for the Coast Guard’s Seventeenth District. “North Pacific Guard is a prime example of a strong, sustained multi-lateral partnership to maximize the impact of collective counter-IUU fishing enforcement efforts and promote the rule of law at sea.”   
   
IUU fishing is detrimental to long-term, stable national security, international relations, and global economics. Up to 27 million tons of fish are caught illegally each year worldwide. The U.S Coast Guard leads U.S. Government efforts in multinational campaigns like North Pacific Guard that counter IUU fishing at-sea, uphold global rules-based order, and promote economic prosperity. 

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